


Chance of a Lifetime

by daisystars



Series: Foster AU [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, F/M, Foster AU, Foster Care, Foster Family, Strong Language, triggering topics, twdg au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:21:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28116096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisystars/pseuds/daisystars
Summary: Weeks after a traumatic foster home experience, Clementine is called and is told a couple is interested in fostering her. Could this be her chance for a home?
Relationships: Carley/Lee Everett
Series: Foster AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2059764
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Chance of a Lifetime

They were fighting again. Downstairs.   
  
Clementine could hear them through the floors. It sounded heated, as they usually were. Clem could’ve sworn something made out of glass was chucked across the room. She could hear it, shattering in an instant and swearing filling in afterward. She just wanted to sleep. That was her only wish.

Living with the Petersons was rough. One of the roughest foster homes Clementine has ever been in. They were found commonly strict and rude during the day, and brutal and violent during the night. Forced to work around the house Clementine got little to no time to herself, and by nighttime she could barely sleep due to the shouts and sometimes even screams blasting for the floor below her provided bedroom. She snuggles up tight into her blanket. The fighting was just growing worse.

Cursing. That’s all she could hear. Shit and fuck and dumb ass bitch. Common language spoken around the house. Never directly to Clementine, thank god, but to the adults it was daily. Dishes weren’t cleaned properly? You were called a whore. Laundry folded wrong? Useless piece of shit you were named. Every single day Clementine was shocked as to how these people were willing to try and adopt a child. A child that would most likely be living in a living hell, exactly like Clementine was doing.

A scream of agony erupted from below. That was a sound Clementine never heard before, and it had escaped from the man of the household’s lips, who usually treated everyone like they were pure nothing. Bits of silence passed before frantic apologies were spoken, and then a shout. A bang. Then nothing. The brunette had never been so scared. Her knuckles had turned white due to how tightly she grasped her blanket. Quietly she rose from her twin bed, blanket still in her grip, and tiptoed to the door of her bedroom. Her hand was shaking madly when she reached out to the doorknob and turned it to open the door. 

The lightbulb from downstairs was flickering slightly, as if Clementine had just entered a horror movie. Blanket draped along her shoulders she ventured forward and descended the stairs, using baby steps the whole way down since she was so frightened, plus she didn’t want to draw unwanted attention to herself. 

Finally she reached the main floor to the two story home and saw the light was still flickering. It looked to be coming from the kitchen, and silence still hung fresh in the air. It was almost unbearable. Taking tiny steps Clementine walked closer and closer, and eventually found herself standing at the door frame that separated the hall and the kitchen. Instantly her eyes widened in horror at the sight her innocent vision was forced to consume.

There on the tiled floor laid Mr. And Mrs. Peterson, both having gashes upon their foreheads and blood trickling down their faces. Some of it even got into their hung open mouths. Clementine screams. Louder than she's ever screamed. She feels her voice crack. She couldn’t bear to state at the sight, yet she found her eyes unable to peel away. Were they dead…? She couldn’t tell. She was frozen on the spot.

It had been at least four hours later when an ambulance and foster care arrived at the house. Immediately the two Petersons were driven to a hospital and Clementine was heading back to square one. Foster care. No matter what happened she always returned back. Always ended up in the same bedroom she was supposed to share with others, but always found her having it to herself. 

All the other kids turned up being fostered for a long time, some even getting adopted. So why wasn’t she? What was holding Clem back from finally receiving a home? She holds back from breaking down into ugly sobs in the car. Her hope was running low. It was draining day after day. Her dreams slowly crushing into bits and pieces. She’ll never have a home, and that’s what made Clementine broken.

Sixteen years. Sixteen dreading years Clementine has jumped from foster home to foster home. And not a single one considered adopting the brunette. She was only a baby when her parents died, the foster care adults saying it was from some horrifying car accident. She didn’t want to believe it at first, but slowly as the years went on and on she accepted it. The fate her parents had to face and she didn’t. 

One hundred fifty five. That was how many foster homes Clementine had been to. One hundred fifty five times she had been rejected for adoption. One hundred fifty five times she was forced to live under such harsh and bizarre conditions. Each house she entered those conditions grew worse and worse the more homes she stepped into. One child, that was it. A small girl with nothing but a small sack of hope at her side. Was it really that hard to take care of her?

Physical and mental scars littered Clementine’s body and mind. Every home she’s been in holds a traumatic experience that glues itself to her and her mind. Abuse was something she experienced a lot, physical and verbal. So many words she’s been called, so many ways of pain she’s been through. Clem can’t even remember the last time someone said “I love you” to her.

Clementine spent a lot of her time hidden in her assigned bedroom at the foster care after the Petersons incident. She didn’t have the courage to go join the other kids as they happily played out in the courtyard of the building, their laughs echoing from outside and bouncing back and forth off the walls of the room. How could homeless kids like themselves be so happy?

Her fingertips swerved along a dragged scar that sat on her left arm while she sat curled up upon her bed. How she got it she remembers too well. So many scars and nightmare-like memories, yet so little happy moments. Was Clementine really that unlucky? Was she really a black cat stuck in this cruel, unkind world?

“Clementine dear?” She hears a woman speak her name. Ms. Summers she recalls her name being. She didn’t even spot her at the doorway, let alone hear the door open. “Can you grab your bag? A couple is here and is interested in fostering you.”

The brunette’s head perked up slightly to the news. A couple wanted to foster her? She hadn’t heard those words be spoken to her in weeks. “They want to… foster me?” She asked, her voice faint.

The blonde woman nods, pushing up her blue framed glasses. “Yep, would you like to meet them? They already signed the papers and everything and are waiting outside to take you to their home.”

Clementine gave the woman a simple nod, racing off her bed to obtain her bag. She didn’t have much to pack, really only packing a blue jacket a past family bought for her and a pillow the foster care was kind enough to provide to her. Zipping the purple backpack shut she slips the straps onto her shoulders and grasped them tightly as Ms. Summers led them down the halls of the building.

Specks of color from drawings made by children in and out of the foster care popping out from the walls on their sides. Staff members every now and then passed by the two, only making small talk. Every window they passed children were seen outside doing some sort of friendly activity, like playing tag or drawing on the sidewalks with pastel colored chalk. Clementine was quiet the entire walk. She was still letting the fact someone wanted to care for her sink in.

Soon the pair found themselves in the front parking lot of the building. It was rather empty for this time of day. Staff cars were mainly littered all across the lot. One car stuck out the most however, a shimmering silver one with pitch black tires that stood out along with the car color. It glistened in the beaming sunlight and sparkled the whole parking lot. A couple, a man and a woman, stood close to the vehicle, too deep in a conversation to notice the two exit the foster building. 

First Clementine took her attention to the man. He was tall, a beard worn on his face while a simple blue flannel hugged his chest and had a darker blue jacket topped over it. There was a certain glint in his eyes that struck out to the brunette the most, one Clementine rarely saw when a man fostered her. Kindness. Love. 

Clem’s attention then turned to the woman. She was much shorter than the man, her outfit more put together and elegant. A knee length magenta skirt wrapped around her legs with a plain white blouse complimented along with it along with a fuzzy looking brown coat. Her short hair was half clipped up, and she along with the man wore that same shine in her eyes. That same look Clementine rarely saw. Could this be it? Her chance for a home?

Ms. Summers cleared her throat, which caused the couple to pause in their conversation and turn their heads to see the pair. Instantly smiles grew on the couple’s faces.

“Hello Mr. Everett, Mrs. Everett,” The blonde began before she settled a hand onto the teen’s shoulder. “This is Clementine. Clementine, this is Mr. and Mrs. Everett.”

“A real pleasure,” The woman, Clem learning to be Mrs. Everett, spoke. “But please, you can call me Carley, and that’s Lee.”

“My apologies. Well, she’s all yours,” Ms. Summers beckoned Clem forward towards the couple before turning to look at her. “You positive you got everything sweetie?” Clementine gives her a short nod. “Very good. I hope you have a fantastic time dear. And who knows, maybe this one will be it,” The blonde pats the girl’s shoulder sweetly before giving out her goodbyes and trailing back into the foster building.

“Well, looks like it’s just us three against the world,” The man, Lee, finally spoke. “Well kiddo? Wanna head home?”

Mentioning that word sent an unfamiliar feeling throughout Clementine’s body. Home. That word was so important to her. Something she was desperate to have for years. “Home?”

“Yeah, you know, the place you’ll be staying at with us. The place you may live at the rest of your-”

“Lee,” Carley’s voice cuts the man off. “Let’s not jump too far ahead.”

Lee visibly rolls his eyes. “You never know Carls, you never know.”

“I think she clearly gets the idea, right Clementine?” The adults turned to the teen, who was briefly staring at them as they exchanged conversation. Seeing their attention was now on her made her panic slightly, simply shrugging as her answer. The couple shared frowns to the silent response from the brunette.

“I can tell from you both you don’t wanna stand around here anymore, so why don’t we head home?” Lee broke the sitting silence around the three of them. “We’re excited to show you where you’ll be staying.” The last part Clem figured was specifically for her. 

Clementine nods to the idea, letting the couple lead her over to the car. Lee opened the door for her and she slipped inside easily, patiently waiting for the other two to get in before deciding to speak up and ask some questions burning in her mind.

“How far away is the house?”

“Not super far,” Carley answers her question. “Is that alright? Or do you wanna go the long way?”

“It’s okay,” Clem speaks softly. “I don’t like long drives anyway.”

“Good to know.” Lee speaks as he drives out of the parking lot and onto the road. Clementine watches buildings and nature fly past out the window. Silence came back upon the trio. It was unsettling at times, them all wishing there was something to break away the awkwardness. 

Clementine took the opportunity to look around the inside of the vehicle. It was fairly tidy, especially for a car that was the model for a family. She half expected to see a snack bag of some kind tucked deep within the seats of the car. But alas, she found nothing. All that caught the brunette’s eye was a simple pink water bottle left in one of the car door cup holders on Clem’s side of the vehicle. It didn’t look like Carley’s, and it definitely didn’t look like Lee’s. Unless it was the man’s, Clementine wouldn’t judge. Her main guess was they had a daughter waiting for them back at the house.

“You alright Clem?”

A nickname being formed for her, and being used, caused Clementine to stiffen suddenly, tearing her gaze from the bottle of water to see Carley was looking back at her. Eyeing her sudden change of state caused the woman to frown. “Sorry, should I not use that nickname?”

Clem was fast to shake her head. “No… it’s okay. I just… no one’s ever called me that before.”

“Clem? Really?” Lee joined into the conversation, not removing his eyes from the road. “Figured that nickname would be common for you.”

“Nope, past homes have just called me Clementine.”

“Well we’d like to change that. If that’s alright with you?”

The brunette nods, which seemed to make the adults in front of her happy. Something about her name having a nickname… she liked it. She felt like she was a kid that belonged. A kid that might possibly have a chance at receiving a home.

“Lee, I love you very dearly,” Carley suddenly spoke, her voice tickling with a hint of anger. Such a tone caused panic to fill in Clementine’s body. “But did you put deodorant on this morning?”

Lee audibly gasps from the driver’s seat before he lets out a small chuckle. “Of course I did! What, you saying I stink?”

“You smell like a fucking rotten egg sandwich made on a gloomy Monday morning!”

“Carley!”

Bickering. They were bickering, at least that’s what Clementine thought it was. She can visibly see they were joking, something she rarely saw couples who fostered her do. Such sight made the brunette let out small giggles.

“Clem, please tell me I don’t smell like a rotten egg sandwich.” Lee begged at the teen, which made her grin softly.

“I can’t smell you from back here, so I can’t say anything.”

“Ha! Girls win!” Carley cried out with a grin on her face as well. Her grin widened when she spotted Lee sticking his tongue out at the woman. Clementine couldn’t help but keep her grin present on her face. The fuzzy feeling continued to swim through her skin. She felt like she belonged, she had a family. 

The rest of the car ride went by like a sunny summer day breeze, and soon Clementine found themselves entering a neighborhood, a neighborhood in which was gated shut by a large dark grey gate and had to have an ID out and ready in order to get in. Once past the gates the teen instantly began looking out the window and trying to guess in her mind where she would be staying. 

House after house they passed, and the more houses they passed the larger they grew. Clementine’s eyes were at the edge of popping out of her sockets when Lee pulled up into the driveway of quite the house. The home looked as if it was transported from one of those Victorian styled murder mystery tales she read years and years ago. The cream colored bricks stood out along with the grey roof tiles, and Clementine half expected a butler of some sort to walk out and greet the three, but no one came out. 

“Woah.” Was all that slipped out of the brunette’s lips. Carley and Lee smiled at the teen’s reaction.

“You like it?”

“It’s so… big.”

“Yeah, that’s our house,” Lee stopped the engine and swiftly took the car key out of the ignition. “You ready to go inside?”

Clementine looked back and forth between the two adults before giving them a brief nod. Easily the three got out of the car, and Clem got a better look at the home. Rose bushes stood tall near the front door of the house, and a decently sized fountain ran smoothly upon the driveway. She felt so small compared to it. 

“You have a fountain…?”

“Sure do, had it installed a few months after me and Lee bought the place,” Carley unzips her coat. They weren’t even inside yet and she was already getting settled back in. “Ready to head inside?”

The brunette spares a look at the couple before she averted her gaze over to the house before them. It was so large… so overwhelming. Clem was sure she’d get lost in it. But it was her home for who knows how long, and she was grateful for that. Taking in a deep breath she nods, grasping her backpack tightly while Lee and Carley led the way to the front door. Clementine was about to enter a world she had never entered before, and she wasn’t quite sure if she was ready for it.


End file.
